I give her a lazy grin. “You stalked me?”
She lowers her gaze, but not before I glimpse an honest human emotion cross her face. Makes me remember when we were kids, and she’d have to work some shit out in her head and have the same expression. But the moment passes, and when she looks back at me, she’s stoic again. She takes my hand, tsking as she surveys the damage. Her gentle touch nearly drops me to my knees after feeling nothing but pain for months. “Does it hurt?”
“Like a motherfucker.” The bleeding’s slowed, but I can’t move my fingers, and it’s swollen and purple from the first knuckles to my wrist. They’ll have to give me a double-dose of noz to make sure I’m ready for my next fight.
No way will Crane allow me to sit out an event. Not when I’m his champion. I’d bet my right nut he’s already sold tickets for my fight. He disappoints fans, he loses fans. He loses fans, his kingdom crumbles.
Not gonna happen.
“I truly am sorry, Wraith,” Jamie whispers. Each stroke of her fingers up my arm sends tiny frissons of electricity straight to the tip of my dick. “For everything.”
“Not your fault, runt.”
Jamie’s eyes are golden glitter against rich Pennsylvania green, and I can almost smell the damp, mountain air. “Does it hurt? Not your hand. The other thing.”
Ket.
“Not as much now. Lyle will shoot me with more once you’re gone.”
She cringes like my words are a physical assault. “No, he won’t.”
“Yeah, he will.”
I walk backward until I reach the wall. Sag against the stone, my body just…done. My mind’s a tangle of thoughts and memories, and…yes, I’m still reeling from the shock that Jamie—my fucking Jamie—is here.
“They’ll do what I tell them.”
“You’ll make it worse,” I say on a frustrated and exhausted sigh.
“The guards listen to me.”
“No, Jamie, they listen to Crane.” I need her to understand that her good intentions will only make my situation worse. “They’ll dose me harder just to fuck with me.”
Her brow furrows, and I doubt she’s aware she’s wringing her hands again. “I see.” Then she lifts her chin and says deadass, “I’m going to get you home.”
I laugh. Can’t help it. Her announcement is ludicrous. Ballsy and noble, but absurd. “You and what army, runt?”
“The plan is already in motion.”
My heart skips a beat, and a spark of hope ignites deep in my soul. “Plan?”
“The original plan was to get myself out and disappear. It’s what I do best, right?” Jamie pulls a rueful face. “When I learnedAtticushad an Unholy tattoo, I knew I couldn’t go alone. I didn’t know it was you, only that it was obviously someone from Mayhem.” She shakes her head. “I couldn’t leave knowing someone from…home…was down here.”
Hope and dread are weights that sinks to the bottom of my stomach. “Oh fuck, Jamie, what the hell are you doing?”
“I’m getting us out, Wraith.” She cups my face, her smile so genuine, it’s a flame that melts through a layer of misery. “Thomas and Roger are with me. All we need you to do is stay alive long enough for us to finish putting the pieces in place.”
Part of me is afraid. Yeah, afraid. Jamie’s not the girl who left Mayhem. She’s David Crane’s wife. This could be another twisted game. Dangle Jamie like a carrot on a string. Give me false hope, then rip her away and leave me with nothing.
“Nah, this is bullshit.” I slap away her hands and stalk off, putting as much distance between us as the cell allows.
“I swear to God, Wraith, it’s not.” She takes a step toward me. Stops. Raises her chin, her pride wrapping around her like a barrier between her and the world. “Iamgetting you home. Thiswillhappen. You can be an active participant, or I can drag you behind me as I leave. But I promise you that when I walk out of Gomorrah, you’re coming with me.”
I want to believe her. Holy fuck, Ineedto believe her. I’ve gone over every obstacle in my head a million times. The armed guards. The zillion friggin’ cameras. The attack dogs. There’s no way I’m getting out of here without help. That leaves me three choices. Accept dying in the cage. Dying down here in the dungeon. Or, I can take a chance on Jamie.
Worst-case scenario, I’m dead no matter how it ends.
I march toward her and invade her space, towering over her. Purposely use my size to intimidate her. “You bust me out, and it doesn’t end there. You understand what I’m telling you?”
